Mr. Hartman's topic will be "Why It is Important to Have Client Engagement Letters for ALL Client Engagements, Even for Tax Engagements."  This presentation will discuss why client engagement letters are a necessity for all CPAs and accountants and how they provide extremely valuable protections for the CPA/accountant.  Mr. Hartman will discuss how to properly draft engagement letters and the needed provisions for same.  Even if the client does not sign the engagement letter, Mr. Hartman will discuss how a CPA/ accountant can still be potentially protected.

The FICPA Annual Show is the largest Continuing Professional Education (CPE) event in Florida, and attracts CPAs from around the State, and elsewhere.

For 37 years, Roy M. Hartman, currently a Director and Trial Counsel at Sacher Zelman Hartman, has litigated claims involving financial frauds. Mr. Hartman began his legal career right out of law school as an Enforcement Attorney with the Miami Branch Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After leaving the Federal Government, Mr. Hartman remained in South Florida to pursue a career in private practice, first at a large Miami firm, and then a national firm, and for nearly the past 27 years at Sacher Zelman Hartman.  

Mr. Hartman has represented individual CPAs; local, regional and national accounting firms; regulated entities; and officers of public companies before the SEC, the PCAOB, state government agencies, and in Federal and state grand jury proceedings in Florida, Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and in private litigation involving claims of securities fraud, common law fraud, violations of accounting and auditing standards, and professional malpractice, among other disputes.

As a member of the Firm’s Complex Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Hartman also litigates RICO claims, trade secret violations, non-compete agreements, and other complex litigation matters.  

Mr. Hartman also heads the Firm’s Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Litigation Practice Group, which represents both secured and unsecured creditors in the Bankruptcy Courts in Florida and nationwide, and in commercial loan disputes with borrowers and guarantors.

While he is a commercial litigator by experience and practice, Mr. Hartman  regularly advises businesses in best practices to prepare commercial contracts (including engagement letters), collect monies owed from customers and clients, and avoidance of potential litigation

Mr. Hartman is a frequent lecturer to accountants and attorneys on matters pertaining to professional liability claims, best practices guidance, securities regulation, Sarbanes-Oxley, lender liability, creditors’ rights, and bankruptcy issues, among other topics.

Mr. Hartman is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator.

Roy can be reached at (305) 371-8797 and rhartman@sacherzelman.com